The optimal management of hypertension in people with dementia is uncertain. This review explores if people with dementia experience greater adverse effects from antihypertensive medications, if cognitive function is protected or worsened by controlling blood pressure (BP) and if there are subgroups of people with dementia for whom antihypertensive therapy is more likely to be harmful. Robust evidence is scant, trials of antihypertensive medications have generally excluded those with dementia. Observational data show changes in risk association over the life course, with high BP being a risk factor for cognitive decline in mid-life, while low BP is predictive in later life...

BACKGROUND: General Practitioners (GPs) are responsible for primary prescribing decisions in most settings. Elderly patients living in Advanced Care Facilities (ACFs) often have significant co-morbidities to consider when selecting an appropriate drug therapy. Careful assessment is required when considering appropriate medication use in frail older patients as they have multiple diseases and thus multiple medication. Many physicians seem reluctant to discontinue other physicians' prescriptions, resulting in further polypharmacy...

Polypharmacotherapy is a commonly used, but frequently criticized, clinical practice. Deprescribing is the process of discontinuing inappropriate or unnecessary medications, with the goals of decreasing adverse events and drug-drug interactions, simplifying medication regimens to enhance adherence, and reducing costs associated with medication use while maintaining or improving clinical outcomes. Studies of groups of patients suggest that deprescribing medication is feasible and safe, but individual experiences are masked by group data...

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of consumer (patient and caregiver) attitudes is essential for conducting medication optimization in practice. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to capture older adults' and caregivers' beliefs and attitudes towards deprescribing. METHODS: The previously validated Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (PATD) questionnaire was expanded based on literature review, expert opinion and focus groups, and a caregivers' version was developed...

BACKGROUND: While there is evidence that supervised withdrawal of inappropriate medications might be beneficial for individuals with polypharmacy, little is known about their attitudes towards deprescribing. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the situation among older community-dwelling Canadians. METHODS: A self-administered survey was adapted from the Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing questionnaire and distributed to 10 community pharmacies and 2 community centers...

Deprescribing is a structured approach to drug discontinuation. An alternative suggested term is "prescription metabolism." The major aim of deprescription is to purge the drug(s) considered unwanted in a given patient, especially in the elderly patients with multiple comorbidities or in those suffering from chronic disease. Like drug metabolism, prescription metabolism is a way of eliminating unwanted, troublesome, or cost-ineffective medications. The removal of such drugs has been found to decrease the incidence of adverse drug reactions and improves the rate of medication adherence, thereby reducing the economic burden on the patient as well as on the health care providers...

OBJECTIVES: Many Canadians use prescription medicines that are unnecessary or that can lead to adverse events. In response, many provinces have introduced programs in which pharmacists are paid to perform medication reviews with patients. As the evidence on such programs is equivocal, we investigated the impact of British Columbia's program. DESIGN: Interrupted time series. SETTING: British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: All residents of British Columbia who received a medication review between May 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013 (163,776 individuals)...

BACKGROUND: Although clinicians ultimately decide when to discontinue (deprescribe) medications, patients' perspectives may guide the process. OBJECTIVES: To develop a survey instrument that assesses patients' experience with and attitudes toward deprescribing. RESEARCH DESIGN: We developed a questionnaire with established and newly created items. We used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA) to assess the psychometric properties...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a multifactorial intervention to promote bisphosphonate deprescription after over 5 years of use (BF5y) in a health care organisation (HCO) in Gipuzkoa (Spain) and to compare it with the standard intervention in other HCOs in the Basque Health Service-Osakidetza. METHODS: An 8-month follow-up study (results from before and after) to assess the impact of two interventions. All patients from Osakidetza receiving BF5y treatment (electronic prescription) in July 2013 were included...

BACKGROUND: Class specific deprescribing guidelines could help clinicians taper and stop medications no longer needed or which may be causing more harm than benefit. We set out to develop methodology to create such guidelines using evidence-based methods for guideline development, evidence synthesis and recommendation rating. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using a comprehensive checklist for a successful guideline enterprise, we conducted a national modified Delphi consensus process to identify priorities for deprescribing guidelines, then conducted scoping exercises to identify feasible topics, and sequentially developed three deprescribing guidelines...

Polypharmacy is a highly prevalent problem in older persons, and is challenging to assess and improve due to variations in definitions of the problem and the heterogeneous methods of medication review and reduction. The purpose of this review is to summarize evidence regarding the prevalence and impact of polypharmacy in geriatric oncology patients and to provide recommendations for assessment and management. Polypharmacy has somewhat variably been incorporated into geriatric assessment studies in geriatric oncology, and polypharmacy has not been consistently evaluated as a predictor of negative outcomes in patients with cancer...

BACKGROUND Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are often used inappropriately, without an indication, or for longer durations than recommended. Few tools exist to guide reassessment of their continued use and deprescribing if required. We aimed to reduce inappropriate drug use by developing and implementing a PPI deprescribing tool and process in a family medicine unit. ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM Primary care providers of adults taking a PPI for 8 weeks with an upcoming periodic health examination were reminded to reassess therapy via electronic medical record (EMR) messaging...

Older people with chronic disease have great potential to benefit from their medications but are also at high risk of harm from their medications. The use of medications is particularly important for symptom control and disease progression in older people. Under-treatment means older people can miss out on the potential benefits of useful medications, while over-treatment (polypharmacy) puts them at increased risk of harm. Deprescribing attempts to balance the potential for benefit and harm by systematically withdrawing inappropriate medications with the goal of managing polypharmacy and improving outcomes...

Evidence for the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements is mixed. The extent to which older people use dietary supplements concomitantly with conventional medications is often under-appreciated by physicians. We conducted a literature review on clinical considerations associated with dietary supplement use, focusing on benefits and harms, motivations for use and contribution to polypharmacy among older people. Vitamin D ≥ 800 IU has demonstrated benefits in fracture prevention. Vitamins A, E, and β-carotene have been associated with an increase in total mortality in several meta-analyses...

Deprescribing is the term used to describe the process of withdrawal of an inappropriate medication supervised by a clinician. This article presents a discussion of how the Four Principles of biomedical ethics (beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice) that may guide medical practitioners' prescribing practices apply to deprescribing medications in older adults. The view of deprescribing as an act creates stronger moral duties than if viewed as an omission. This may explain the fear of negative outcomes which has been reported by prescribers as a barrier to deprescribing...

BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy is highly prevalent in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Although polypharmacy is sometimes unavoidable, polypharmacy has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: To identify and prioritize a range of potential interventions to manage polypharmacy in RACFs from the perspectives of health care professionals, health policy and consumer representatives. METHODS: Two nominal group technique (NGT) sessions were convened in August 2015...

INTRODUCTION: Polypharmacy, inappropriate prescribing and adverse drug reactions are frequent and important among elderly nursing home residents. Few clinical trials have evaluated systematic withdrawal of medications in nursing homes. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effect of a controlled deprescribing intervention against the usual care in elderly nursing home residents. METHODS: The present deprescribing intervention was conducted in two departments at the Shfaram Geriatric Center (Beet Alenaya)...

Multimorbidity and associated polypharmacy present a significant and increasing challenge to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.(1,2) While it is recognised that polypharmacy can be beneficial, there is considerable potential for harm, particularly through drug interactions, adverse drug events and non-adherence.(1) Such harms are amplified in people who are frail and who may require interventions to be tailored to their individual needs rather than strictly following guidance designed to manage single diseases...